Repeat duplex ultrasound scanning in suspected Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT): putting the onus back on the referring clinician.

Duplex scanning is utilised by many departments in the investigation of suspected DVT. NICE Guideline CG144 recommended repeat scanning for patients in whom the initial Wells score was 'likely' in the presence of a raised D-Dimer, following a normal first scan. Following implementation of this recommendation in our department there was a dramatic rise in the number of repeat scans being undertaken, all of which were negative for DVT. Introduction of an electronic message to the report, placing the onus back on the referring clinician to arrange repeat scan if deemed appropriate resulted in a fall in the number of scans being undertaken without impacting on patient outcome.

Implementation of NICE recommendations on abdomino-pelvic CT, following unprovoked venous thromboembolism, in a UK teaching hospital: no additional detection of occult malignancy and high numbers of incidental findings.

INTRODUCTION: NICE Clinical Guideline 144 recommends that patients with an unprovoked VTE, who do not have signs or symptoms of cancer on initial investigation, be considered for further investigation with an abdomino-pelvic CT to exclude occult malignancy. This study aimed to evaluate numbers of scans performed in a UK teaching hospital and outcomes, following this recommendation. METHODS: Retrospective review of CT scans performed before and after publication of the NICE guidance in 2012. CT reports and case notes were analysed. Type and stage of malignancy, treatment and other relevant findings were documented. For the 2014 data set, all incidental radiological findings and follow-up recommendations were reviewed. RESULTS: The annual number of CT scans requested for "unprovoked VTE", rose by 142% following publication of NICE Clinical Guideline 144. In the 2011 - 2012 data set, 21 patients were included, one of which was found to have a malignancy, which was clinically overt at the time of diagnosis i.e. not occult. Five patients (23.8%) had incidental findings requiring further investigation. In the 2014 - 2015 data set, 51 patients were included, five (9.8%) of which were found to have malignancy. In retrospect, all showed signs/symptoms of potential malignancy on initial investigation. No occult malignancies were detected in the patients correctly referred. Incidental findings warranting further investigation were reported in ten cases (19.6%). On review, follow-up advice was deemed incorrect in four of these. CONCLUSION: Addition of an abdomino-pelvic CT scan in patients with a first unprovoked VTE and no signs or symptoms of cancer on initial investigation, significantly increased the number of scans and incidental findings, but did not pick up any additional occult malignancies.

Prediction of invasive candidal infection in critically ill patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with severe acute pancreatitis are at risk of candidal infections carrying the potential risk of an increase in mortality. Since early diagnosis is problematic, several clinical risk scores have been developed to identify patients at risk. Such patients may benefit from prophylactic antifungal therapy while those patients who have a low risk of infection may not benefit and may be harmed. The aim of this study was to assess the validity and discrimination of existing risk scores for invasive candidal infections in patients with severe acute pancreatitis. METHODS: Patients admitted with severe acute pancreatitis to the intensive care unit were analysed. Outcomes and risk factors of admissions with and without candidal infection were compared. Accuracy and discrimination of three existing risk scores for the development of invasive candidal infection (Candida score, Candida Colonisation Index Score and the Invasive Candidiasis Score) were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 101 patients were identified from 2003 to 2011 and 18 (17.8%) of these developed candidal infection. Thirty patients died, giving an overall hospital mortality of 29.7%. Hospital mortality was significantly higher in patients with candidal infection (55.6% compared to 24.1%, P=0.02). Candida colonisation was associated with subsequent candidal infection on multivariate analysis. The Candida Colonisation Index Score was the most accurate test, with specificity of 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68 to 0.88), sensitivity of 0.67 (95% CI 0.41 to 0.87), negative predictive value of 0.91 (95% CI 0.82 to 0.97) and a positive likelihood ratio of 3.2 (95% CI 1.9 to 5.5). The Candida Colonisation Index Score showed the best discrimination with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.79 (95% CI 0.69 to 0.87). CONCLUSIONS: In this study the Candida Colonisation Index Score was the most accurate and discriminative test at identifying which patients with severe acute pancreatitis are at risk of developing candidal infection. However its low sensitivity may limit its clinical usefulness.